News

For Australian residents, your home is generally exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) subject to meeting the ATO’s requirements. Australians living abroad have also been able to claim the CGT exemption on the family home. This exemption has been available to foreign residents, so long as the home was rented out for no more than six years at a time.... Read more

If you’re looking for a home loan, one of the first things your lender will ask about is your living expenses. That’s because, under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, lenders must allow for living costs when deciding how much an applicant can afford to borrow. While some lenders will simply require a rough estimate of your weekly or monthly... Read more

Despite almost 30 years of compulsory super contributions in Australia, reports show women are retiring with 40 percent less superannuation than men. Currently, the average superannuation balance for a man (aged 60 to 64) is $270,710. For a woman of the same age it’s $157,050 – a difference of $113,660. There are several reasons for this. Women Take More Time... Read more

What do Amy Winehouse, Abraham Lincoln, Barry White, and Bob Marley have in common? They all died intestate; meaning they died without leaving a valid Will. A Will is a legal document that sets out how you want your assets to be distributed when you die. It allows you to make your own choices about your estate and gives... Read more

By Andrew O’Donnell, Director – Edney Ryan Legal In the era of longer life expectancy, marriage, divorce, de-facto relationships and blended families, it is important to be aware of the law around family provisions from estates, both for Willmakers and potential applicants. A Family Provision claim is a legal application by an eligible person for a share (or larger share) of... Read more

As house prices rise across Australia, more and more clients seek advice on ways they can help their children enter the property market. In fact, reports suggest up to 80 percent of parents are prepared to provide some sort of financial support. But What is the Best Way to Help? There are several ways parents can give their children a... Read more

As we reach the end of another financial year, there are a number of legislative changes worth recalling which took effect from 1 July 2017. Here we highlight the changes to residential investment property deductions, which will be relevant for many of our clients. Changes to Residential Rental Property Travel Expenses Under legislation that took effect 1 July 2017, travel... Read more

Homeowners aged 65 years or over are now able to downsize their family home and invest the surplus into the tax effective environment of superannuation. The sale of the property must be from 1 July 2018 and the property must have been owned for at least 10 years and be the principal place of residence (hence eligible for the main... Read more

By Kate O’Brien, Director – Edney Ryan Wealth Management Australian dwelling values slipped 0.1 per cent lower in May, according to the latest CoreLogic housing market update. The fall marked the eighth consecutive month-on-month fall and took the annual change (-0.4%) into decline for the first time since October 2012. CoreLogic Head of Research, Tim Lawless, said the biggest declines... Read more

Cybercrime impacts the lives of many Australians and is expected to increase as our reliance on technology grows. Common types of cybercrime include hacking, online scams, fraud, identity theft and attacks on computer systems. In recent months we have been made aware of several instances where clients have been targeted by cybercriminals. Here we share these examples as a warning... Read more